County board District 3 candidates elevate separate niches in Democratic primary

PORT HURON — The third district on the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners — an area that represents all but the northern-most part of the city of Port Huron — has long been held by a Democrat.

And in the Aug. 6 primary, voters in the area will have a choice between a two-term incumbent and a newcomer with the D beside their name — the winner moving on to the November general election against Republican Cliff Schrader and potentially taking a seat on the seven-member board.

Both Commissioner Lisa Beedon and challenger Darrin Rushing cite long-held ties to the community and wanting to represent the interests of the city’s south side, following differing ideological threads despite the political moniker they have in common on paper.

Still, each evaded any mudslinging, or even directly referencing each other by name, in interviews earlier this month — broadly referencing their beliefs and how they hope to help influence the county board down the road instead.

“There are a lot of things I don’t agree with,” Rushing said of running in response to issues over the last few years. Initially, he said he'd been interested in seeking state office but pivoted earlier this year.

He recalled the rising public concerns about local COVID mandates and the impacts on schoolchildren three and a half years ago as early motivations to run, and he cited being a former foster parent and having his granddaughter living at home, where he witnessed what he believed were negative effects.

“Back in September of ’21, that Dr. (Annette) Mercatante, (the county’s former medical director), and corporate counsel were instituting these things and they were intimidating residents,” Rushing said. “I didn’t like that.”

He also referenced a public commenter at a recent May 2 board meeting who told officials they thought someone from the county should be involved in a neighborhood improvement authority effort in Port Huron’s south side. For Rushing, whose brother Dave is already a longtime board member in District 6, it was a callback to a part of the community he’s long called home.

“It’s something that means something to me. I have a lot of friends there. Well, I see them not being represented. I see their interests being subverted for special projects,” he said. “… Things that that don’t represent the majority of the values and the things that the people from those neighborhoods (want), particularly the south side.”

For Beedon, being a commissioner for the lower seven city precincts as a Democrat was keeping up a tradition of having a seat for interests not otherwise present on the county board.

District 3 currently covers all precincts south of the Black River, as well as all of the fourth and fifth precincts with the northern most bordering the county board’s second district at Garfield Street east of Pine Grove Avenue and Scott Avenue west of Pine Grove. When Beedon was elected in 2020, she replaced longtime Democratic board official Howard Heidemann, who’d served 18 years.

“It’s important that women are represented, people of color, different religions, and sexual orientation," she said. Port Huron is statistically the county's more diverse area and historically has Democratic pockets. "It doesn’t matter what room you’re in or what boards you’re on. It’s important because otherwise we get into an echo chamber, and we get a tunnel vision, and we don’t see what else is happening."

Most of the time, Beedon admitted decisions the board of commissioners makes are not partisan. They work to ensure smooth sailing for county departments and oversee its massive budget, including over $52 million in general funds.

The partisan balance tips, however, when the board takes up non-binding resolutions on statements or national issues, she said, such as supporting Second Amendment rights or a recent measure on election integrity.

On the rare occasion, an issue splits the board, like when a narrow 4-3 vote green-lit $9,675 in Beedon’s share of county COVID stimulus dollars going to the Blue Water Alley Center, a nonprofit facility that supports the local LGBTQ+ community.

Beedon said much of her American Rescue Plan Act monies have gone to nonprofits with a variety of service aims that help the entire county. She said she thought ARPA funds would continue to be “top of mind for everyone” even once those dollars are all designated for use as required by the end of this year and how they “elevate the county and the services we provide.”

But a bigger focus this primary season, Beedon said, was pushing for a commissioner in District 3 who she believed would help keep a solid middle ground on the board

“I think it’s important for people to know who is representing them. So, me, as the county Dem, that’s called out a lot, but I’m an honest and ethical person. I’m not misrepresenting myself. I’m open to all sides,” she said. “I look for ways that we can meet in the middle, and I think that’s a really important attribute for someone at this level to have because at the end of the day, the decisions that we make impact everyone regardless of the initial after our last name.”

What's in a Democratic name?

Multiple messages to the Times Herald pointed to Rushing’s social media activity, where he has shared posts critical of President Joe Biden and others from conservative pages, as well as an endorsement of Donald Trump with St. Clair County Republicans that he signed this year, alleging he wasn’t a Democrat.

When asked, Rushing said, “I’m more or less a centrist. If you want to label me, I’m probably a libertarian. I don’t believe in big government. In that regard, that’s why I would support Donald Trump over Joe Biden.”

And to more generally show where he considers himself more Democratic, Rushing pointed to one often-polarizing issue, abortion, as an example.

“I don’t support it being a form of birth control, but I’m not one for murdering babies,” he said. "... But at the same time, two things, one you can’t legislate morality. ... If you do, you’re going to hurt more people than you help. Secondly, as someone who’s been married, and my wife had a miscarriage, I’m never going to tell a woman that she can’t have abortion if she’s been a victim of rape or incest, or if it may cost her, her life.”

At the local level, Rushing said he considered himself “really conservative when it comes to personal accountability” issues. He mentioned Beedon’s support of the ally center and other nonprofits in the longer list of things he thought were special interests or could impact children, adding public money going out without long-term county oversight “should anything go sideways” was a concern.

A state employee of close to 25 years, Rushing is currently a prison counselor with the Michigan Department of Corrections. He’s previously run for Port Huron City Council and has been involved with a neighborhood watch and other efforts where he lives in Harrison Pointe. With experience as a local volunteer in policing program, he said he also has a good relationship with law enforcement.

Overall, Rushing said he doesn’t agree there’s a dichotomy in his ideology running as a Democrat. "You can be fiscally responsible, but there are some times and there are some things where you have to spend money to get the result you want," he said "… There are some causes and some things that are involved in human nature that are worth more than a bottom line.”

Prior to being elected to the county board, Beedon served on City Council.

Previously a staffer at Lake Huron Medical Center, she said she still serves on the hospital foundation’s events committee, as well as the board of directors for Hunter Hospitality House. She was active in a women’s life group, fundraising for other nonprofits and people in need, and she works with the commission on aging as a county board member. Currently, she is the executive director at Blue Water Developmental Housing.

Beedon emphasized her love for the region as a boater and for District 3 at large, noting it includes the city’s downtown and its industrial park. “I just love being part of the fabric of this community.”

“I do think it’s important to have a Democrat on the county commission. Ideally, I would like that to be me, which is why I’m running," she said. "But I think it’s important that someone who holds the values of the Democratic Party is on the board and representing that population.”

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: County board District 3 candidates elevate differences in Democratic primary